NEWPORT WASPS' dynamic duo meet their new team-mates for the first time at Hayley Stadium today.

But, for captain Craig Watson, the new season will herald a lot of time on the road fleeting from Wales to the north of England.

However, his best mate, fellow Aussie star Frank Smart (picture), reckons that Watson will cope with the job quite well.

Smart and Watson were the keystones of the Wasps' side last season and also came within a whisker of landing the Premier League Pairs championship.

The skipper, though, is doubling up with the Wasps and Manchester-based Belle Vue this campaign but Smart said: "It's an extra 12 meetings for Craig and he will have to stick right on top of things but I think he will be ok with it.

"I think Craig will still carry on well for us but we will just have to see how things go."

Although winning for the Wasps is the main priority for the wizards from Oz, Smart said that the doubles crown would be quite nice to capture as well.

He added: "I would like to think that Craig and me can do well at the pairs this year as we have been close over the last couple of years."

And Smart, who has just returned to Newport from Australia after spending the 'summer' down under there, has been quite impressed by new signing Tony Atkin already.

He said: "Tony has been around for a long, long time. He has been practicing and is looking good.

"Hopefully, the team can gell together but it's always the same story. It takes any team a month or so to see where they are standing and that's no different this time around."

The Wasps had a bit of an up-and-down campaign last year where they were in with a chance of reaching the top but did not quite manage it.

Now, though, with the new squad assembled, Smart thinks the Wasps' chances of bringing some silverware to Hayley Stadium are good.

He added: "I would like to think we have a chance of the Premier League title but it's really hard to say for sure until we get going."